Man, talk about unlikeable characters! This story fell flat for me; more teenage-type drama than I care for in grown women. It didn't feel especially realistic or well-paced, and I found myself skimming a fair bit.

This was easy to read, the characters were described in detail, without the description being "too long" or "too boring", since you as the reader got to know about each one a little more, while the story played out.
In short: They all came alive in my mind, including their looks, habits, and quirks.

However, I would not consider this as a slow burn, because things happened in a fair and timely matter.

Throw one "influencer" in there, a bunch of neighbors - friends as well as foes - and someone dies in the end. But how did they die, why, and who is responsible ?

Well, that's for me to know after I read this story - and for you to find out !
Meaning: Would definitely recommend to read.

On the surface, Ciara has it all; marriage, children, and dream job as an internet influencer. But, what goes on behind closed doors? Ciara has a tight group of friends, other mothers in the neighborhood and she has also welcomed Mishti into her friend circle. Lauren however, another mother in the neighborhood, is not in the “in moms” group and she is often ridiculed and gossiped about. When Ciara turns up dead in her house, some truths will come to light. Behind closed doors, there is so much more happening in this neighborhood including, infidelity and issues with alcohol. Each of the main women in this story have their own storylines, challenges, and successes. It was such an interesting read with good character development. I couldn’t put the book down because I was interested to see what would happen next. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you’re one of those who admire what appears to be someone’s perfect life then this book is for you. This had just enough twists and turns to hold my interest until the end which was a bit disappointing. I didn’t like any of the characters but they were all interesting in a variety of ways. This wasn’t my favorite book of the year but for a debut novel I was pretty impressed and would definitely read more. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Do you ever wonder about those social media influencers who have those oh so perfect lives? Their hair, their makeup, their clothes, their children are always perfect. Is that real life? Dirty Laundry explores the question. Ciara the influencer is the favorite among all the women in her village. Her life is perfect, but is it? No, of course it’s not, but Ciara is willing to do whatever’s necessary to keep up the illusion. And the harder she pushes the more cracks appear and the more her life is on the verge of falling apart.

Dirty Laundry is a good fun read. It’s tight, not always pleasant but definitely worth the effort.

Dirty Laundry builds slowly, but reaches the tensions of the stories and characters as it goes along. There are no good guys, ultimately. It gives a new meaning to the expression, "it takes a village." A mean girls and mean guys twisty tale.

Dirty Laundry was a captivating read, and it kept the pages turning, so unlike many books I didn't end up liking, I finished this one to the end. I ultimately really disliked this book once I finished it. The characters fell fat, there were too many storylines happening at once, and ultimately I didn't feel satisfied with the ending - it was honestly very lackluster. I felt that each of the main characters were either underdeveloped or inconsistent - Ciara was nice, but cynical. She had a social media addiction but we didn't really talk too much about how she felt about her followers. We don't really get to understand why Ciara hates Lauren so much - is it really just about that first interaction, and the fact that she's cheating with her husband? I felt these were unrealistic grounds for a hate that felt so deep, so ingrained in history. Gerry had no purpose other than to be proof that Ciara was cheating on her husband - his little cameo at the end didn't validate the lack of attention this character was given. Lauren was a misunderstood character, but still, we didn't really get much closure on her storylines, and I didn't really understand why we needed all of the back story on her childhood once I got to the end. I would have liked to see more development of her relationship with the O'Brien family. Lauren had violent tendencies in earlier anecdotes in the book but that doesn't extend to her later fallouts with Sean or even with Ciara. I also felt that Parth's character was underdeveloped, I wanted to hear more about how he got to be the way he is, how he got to wanting what he wanted, but maybe that's saved for another book. I would say the best developed character in the book is Mishti, she had a lot of the Indian immigrant archetype I see in a lot of recent South Asian literature. Even so, I wish we'd spent more time about her and dove more into her wants and desires. I feel like a book could easily be written about each of the characters Bose developed, but since we were jumping around too many different storylines, I felt unsatisfied with the conclusion.

Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose
Rating (3/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publishing Date - 4/4/23
Thank you Netgalley and Random House for this arc. A good debut novel by Disha Rose. Not quite the domestic thriller / suspenseful novel I was expecting it to be , but definitely an interesting read. Desperate Housewives and Mean Girls kind of vibe to it. Looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

This book reminded me of a different book I read a while back on mom groups. Basically, my take-away, which I’ve seen in real life, is that these groups are generally toxic. This book was written that way as well. What’s your take on mom groups? Or community groups in general?

Ciara is picture perfect, she has it all and she is the queen bee of her small Irish village mom group. Everyone looks to her for guidance. When Mishti moved to town, Ciara took her under her wing. Mishti wants what Ciara has. Lauren is down to earth, and very holistic. To say Ciara and Lauren don’t like each other is an understatement. Then, Ciara is found dead, murdered. With everyone seemingly having something to gain from Ciara’s death, who did it?

There was so much drama in this book that I got dizzy and found it hard to keep up. The neighborhood portrayed is small, but the amount of drama was that of a much larger area. This suburbia was hard to relate to honestly. While none of the characters were really enjoyable, I did like how this one worked. Lauren vowing to bring Ciara down kept me engaged throughout the book even though it was a slow burn overall. I enjoyed how the book was laid out, and the timeline presented. I think that this is a solid debut novel, and overall, a good read.

If you love watching Desperate Housewives and want to read it – then check this one out April 4th of next year! Thank you so much to the publisher, Random House – Ballantine, @randomhouse, for pre-approving and sending me this e-arc via @Netgalley.

Lots I have domestic drama in this one. I live in a suburban neighborhood much like the one in the story and I find this story a bit unbelievable. Way too much infidelity, .. just not a Realistic novel about life in suburbia. I found myself skimming most of the chapters and losing interest in the characters. Not a favorite book for me.

Disha Bose is a writer to watch. Not afraid to create characters that are hard to root for, she epitomizes a realistic point of view, a collection of complicated people in which everyone can recognize disagreeable but familiar traits hopefully in others and not in oneself. Three couples live in close proximity in a small Irish village near the city of Cork. Ciara is queen bee of the Internet, an influencer who calls the shots on everyone else. Her death, at the beginning, sets the stage for a recap of the weeks preceding in which backgrounds and motivations are presented. Modern day issues, such as Internet power and bullying are dealt with organically and in unconventional ways. This is above average in the twisty domestic thriller category.

Dirty Laundry is a fun domestic thriller complete with self-absorbed characters, mommy blogger drama, and salacious affairs. From looking at her polished Instagram account, Ciara appears to have it all - a wealthy husband, perfectly behaved children, and a glitzy circle of friends. Her target, Lauren, has none of these things, but has convinced herself she is better without Ciara and her posse. As Lauren gets closer to Ciara's increasingly disillusioned best friend Mishti, the town begins to unravel and somebody does not make it out alive.

Dirty Laundry is a pretty solid entry for the drama and won't disappoint readers who enjoy its typical hallmarks. Bose does a good job of keeping you invested in characters that aren't all that likeable. My only complaint is that the ending drags a little too long, but Dirty Laundry is still worth the read.

Note: I received a free ebook copy of Dirty Laundry from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A modern day Desperate Housewife type look into the lives of three distinct families and the baggage they carry. I enjoyed the way all the families intertwined their stories as we try to solved the mystery. This is a modern tale of the grass is not greener. I really enjoyed the look back on how the families met and where they are at currently.
Without giving too much away, I want to say that I enjoyed this book so much that I stood up late to finish reading.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own and freely given.
Expected release March, 2023

Murder, affairs, social media mean girls, outcasts, and failing marriages. This book has a little of everything! The men in this novel have few redeeming qualities, and the women are frustratingly mean or complacent. But it all came together by the end with their reactions to the murder, and I found myself smiling a wicked little smile in response.

Do you like unlikable characters? How about mommy blogger drama? Real Housewives of wherever? Rich people fucking up?

Dirty Laundry is all that and more and was a quick read! Bit of fluff that made me feel equal parts yuck and proud of myself for being nothing like the twats in this story.

I suggest putting off folding your own laundry and reading about these messy fools to feel better about your life!

Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose
A very well written book about a bunch of HIGHLY unlikeable characters, I really hated them all. They were selfish, full of envy and greed, just awful people. That said I found the book entertaining and very funny.
Many thanks to Disha Bose, NetGalley, and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was well written, but it just was not a good fit for me. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.

3.5 stars - This is an amazing blend of Real Housewives with Desperate Housewives mixed with Mean Girls and horrible people behaving badly. There really isn't anyone to like here, and that's okay. I think it's meant to be that way. The story is engaging and it pulls you in while you sit quietly and watch it all unfold, all the while feeling like you shouldn't be enjoying this and you need a shower to rinse the yuck off you. I'd recommend this one for one of those days when you just feel like a guilty pleasure.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

In this book we follow three female neighbors, Ciara, Lauren, and Mishti. Each has their own hidden agenda and secrets and friendships. Ciara and Mishti are best friends as Ciara quickly took her under her wing while Lauren, was left as the towns outcast. Ciara has a big social media following and likes her picture perfect life, even married for that life rather than love. Mishti was placed in an arranged marriage, sent to a new country with him and has struggled to fit in or even communicate with her husband. While Lauren has been in this town forever, has children with her long time boyfriend and lives in her grandmothers home, never really fitting in with the other moms. We quickly begin to see the secrets each woman holds and how their husbands are more connected to the woman than they even realize. A suspenseful read for a small suburban town.

Unfortunately I didn’t finish this book. I put it down after a bit. It was a real slow burn for me. I didn’t like any of the characters; they were quite mean. I didn’t want to continue reading.